Binaries and Boxes with Caroline Maposhere

By Elizabeth Ndhlovu-Dumbreni

Pastor Caroline Maposhere

Health professional, counsellor and pastor, Caroline Maposhere, who was part of the dialogue with parliamentarians on addressing health/ HIV services for key populations, used the binaries and boxes tool to demonstrate and address the stereotypes and homophobia perpetrated against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) members of our society.

Pastor Maposhere described the dynamics of human sexuality and elaborated that in some cases, there is a mismatch between the internal and external genital organs, leading to some people being assigned to the wrong sex at birth. Others simply have different sexual orientations and are more attracted to members of the same sex.

She explained that pushing someone to behave in a way that goes against their internal feelings in order to conform to society’s expectations can actually do more harm than good

“Young people end up engaging in risky behaviours as a way of giving in to society or family pressures in terms of sexual orientation and preference. But God loves diversity, hence the diversity seen in the people that He has created in His own image,” she said.

She urged religious leaders to desist from using the Bible as a tool to oppress key population members and highlighted that if the New Testament is there to bring good news, then it follows that all people should be shown love and treated as equals.